White Silk

"Dance," Rukia began, twirling her white zanpakuto, "Sode no Shirayuki!"

Rukia pulled her sword back, bending her knees.

"Some no Mai... Tsukishiro!"

The petite soul reaper lunged towards her opponent, swinging her blade down, which caused a pool of light to form in the ground where it was standing. Suddenly, a burst of energy came from the circle in the ground, and a tall pillar of ice formed, closing in on her enemy. Once the ice shattered, the monster shrieked before it faded away.

Rukia landed softy, whipping her zanpakuto to the side, letting the blood drip off the blade, before putting it back into its sheathe.

"Nicely done. That was a little over-kill for a simple Hollow, wasn't it?" Ichigo teased.

They were both dressed in black robes, carrying swords. It was just a regular day for the two. They were out again, protecting Karakura town and fighting Hollows.

"As if your Getsuga Tensho isn't," she countered, pushing his shoulder.

"H-hey! You're bleeding." Ichigo stated, sighing, looking at the red stain her hand left on his robes. "Stupid."

Rukia gasped a bit, "Oh. Sorry." She looked down, noticing a cut on her palm that oozed blood.

"Want some bandages or something?" he asked, crouching down so he was at her height.

"Must've been from the Hollow, but this is nothing." She told him, while healing it with her Kidō.

"No, shit." Ichigo scoffed.

Rukia pushed him again even harder with the same hand, but it was already healed.

"Oi!" Ichigo hollered, getting a snort from Rukia.

Yeah, it was just a regular day for them.

But even the smallest things about it made Ichigo enjoy it so much. Their teamwork when fighting, or just watching her handle the situation, little gestures, smirks, even glances he'd get from her, altogether made missing class worth it. He could easily catch up with his studies, anyway.

"You two clean up fast." Uryuu called out, running towards them.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed, following the Quincy, "Kuchiki-san!"

Chad also followed closely behind, waving. "Hey."

"How much time is there before school's over?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia flipped open her phone and answered, "We've got an hour and a half left."

"That thing can tell time?" Ichigo muttered.

"I still have work to do and assignments to hand in. Let's head back." Uryuu said, sighing.

"Nerd." Ichigo mumbled, smirking.

"Can you quit muttering stupid remarks?" Uryuu snapped, fuming. "No one finds you funny!"

"I wasn't trying to be funny, dumbass!"

"So I'm a nerd, now I'm a dumbass, Kurosaki?" Uryuu shot back, crossing his arms.

"O-kay, stop bickering or you two will get left behind!" Orihime told her friends, laughing, grabbing Uryuu's collar from behind and dragging him away.

"Ugh!" he choked out, "Inoue-san, you're grip is too tight! I can't breathe!"

Ichigo sweatdropped, looking at the two run off with Chad leading.

Rukia added, "Ichigo, you let your guard down!"

"GAH!" Ichigo exclaimed, feeling a shoe hit the back of his head. "Rukia?!"

She simply rolled her eyes, as she landed on her feet and took his arm. "Oh, come on, you'll be late!"

They finally caught up with their friends, exchanging glances before sprinting back to school in time for last period.

"Hell, why are these girls so violent?" Ichigo said quietly to himself, scratching the back of his head and massaging the small bump that was forming.

"Oi, you muttering to yourself again? Ishida was right." Rukia smirked at him.

"Shut up!"

Little gestures, smirks, even glances he'd get from her... altogether really made missing class worth it.

"So what did you get her for White Day?"

"I bought her a necklace. I saw her staring at it every time we went out shopping."

"Did she give you a Valentine?"

"Yeah, so I made sure to make the gift extra special."

"Damn, I want a girlfriend..."

Ichigo listened in on one of the conversations as he watched the last of the boys walk out of the classroom. On the other hand, he had to stay after school to catch up on a missed lesson.

Chad and Orihime were smart enough already and quickly jotted down notes and understood it with little information. He had no idea where Uryuu was, and Rukia just didn't give a damn about her grades in the world of the living.

"See ya at home, Ichigo!" She gave him a smug look before running out the door.

Ichigo pulled at his orange hair in frustration as he tried to solve the questions with the notes he received from his sensei. The answer finally popped into his head and he grabbed his pencil to write it down, but was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind.

"I-chiiiiii-gooooo... Oi, Ichigoooo!"

He swore he was alone.

Whatever.

He tried to ignore it while scribbling down his answer.

"Carrot top!"

That made him lose his train of thought.

"What is it, Keigo?!" Ichigo demanded through clenched teeth, turning around in his seat and glaring. "Can't you see I'm working?"

Keigo smiled weakly, putting his hands up as if to surrender. "Easy, easy! I'm just bored."

"Detention?" Ichigo asked.

His friend sighed, "Yep."

"I didn't even notice you behind me."

"That's cruel, Ichigo!"

"So... what's up?" The carrot top muttered, turning back in his seat and going back to his work.

Keigo sighed again, "Meh, I wanted to spend White Day with Inoue... but I got detention."

"What did you do?" replied Ichigo.

"Tried to skip class today. I saw you and Kuchiki leaving so I tried to join." Keigo chortled.

"Idiot."

"But anyway!" Keigo exclaimed, "You're a close friend of Inoue, so could you, y'know, give me some advice on how I should ask her out on White Day? Or maybe a gift?"

"Inoue already has a lot of admirers but she has Tatsuki with her. And the ones that had the guts to ask her out were turned down. She did it nicely, but she still turned them down." Ichigo answered, "In my opinion, Inoue's out of your league. You could give her a gift or something, but unless you want to get your ass kicked, I suggest you don't ask her out."

"So a gift!"

"I don't know, Keigo. Maybe you should be asking Ishida this rather than me." Ichigo shrugged, then continued to work on his assignment.

"But don't you know what you're getting Kuchiki-san?"

Ichigo paused. He never told Keigo about Rukia's valentines. How did he know?

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"Wouldn't she be expecting something? You two are pretty close, too." Keigo replied.

"I- I guess so." Ichigo awkwardly scratched his chin, thinking.

Keigo threw his arms up, and sighed, "Man, don't tell me you didn't get her anything! You and Kuchiki are always leaving class to go off somewhere! You guys are always together!"

"Ugh," Ichigo gritted his teeth, turning his head to face Keigo, "would you shut up?"

He hated it when he was wrong, and idiots like Keigo were right. Even though he didn't know of the valentines...

Ichigo really felt like he owed Rukia a White Day present. Orihime already said she didn't expect anything in return, but Rukia never said anything about what she wanted.

"I'm not surprised Kurosaki wouldn't be prepared for White Day." Uryuu spoke up, stepping into the classroom. "I actually got Inoue-san something, and she loved it.

"When the hell did you come in?" Ichigo hissed.

"I was just passing by and heard your voices." Uryuu answered then peered down at Ichigo's worksheet. He pointed at a question, saying, "Twenty three and a half degrees."

Ichigo's eyes lit up and he tilted his head as he checked the paper. "Th-thanks."

"Anyway Ishida, why are you still at school?" Keigo questioned.

He adjusted his glasses, mumbling, "The Sewing Club had a meeting today."

Ichigo and Keigo stifled a snicker, placing their hands over their mouths to hide their grins.

"Shut up!" Uryuu fumed. He sighed, "Kurosaki, you honestly don't know what to get Kuchiki-san?"

"I never really thought about it." Ichigo replied, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He exhaled, looking at the window.

What was he supposed to get her? He began to list the things a guy would give to his girlfr- no, his special someone - dammit, his short friend that might be expecting a gift on White Day 'cause she just had to give him a valentine.

Chocolate? No, doesn't seem as special for a White Day gift.

Chappy? Ichigo thought for a moment. As much as she loves it, it seems too... easy. She's got enough of them already and I hate those things anyway.

Jewelry? Too expensive.

Lingerie? No. Just. No. Ichigo almost fell out of his seat, swatting away the dirty thought that was about to form in his head. Besides, he'd get a slap in the face, a punch to the jaw, and a kick between the legs if he gave her something like that.

Clothes? ... Damn. I'm desperate.

"Oi," Ichigo said quietly, "Ishida."

"Hm?" Uryuu said, turning to face him.

"D'ya think Rukia might like a shirt, or something?"

Uryuu gawked at him. "You were thinking all this time and all you could come up with was a shirt?"

"Talk about thoughtful." Keigo added sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up!" Ichigo said, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. He was never good with girly things.

"A dress would be nice. Heck, I could even make one." Uryuu commented, giving a cocky smile.

Ichigo groaned, "No way, I'm not giving her a dress. It doesn't really... match her."

"Match her?"

"I don't know, I can't really imagine her in a dress."

Keigo raised an eyebrow. "She always wears dresses."

"Nah, I don't really pay attention to those." Ichigo shrugged.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips into a thin line. Whenever he imagined Rukia, he thought of her true form as a soul reaper, not in her gigai wearing girly dresses and skirts. He always imagined her dressed in her standard shihakushō, and on rare occasions, in white robes.

He wasn't sure if it was the robes she wore in Soul Society during her execution, or if they were something he just came up with.

But it didn't matter which robe it was - it was the colour. White was a perfect colour to describe Rukia, even though she might disagree. First of all, her zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki was a beautiful, white sword, with the power of ice.

Other than the physical traits, Rukia was also very clean and pure in heart (even if she could sometimes get violent with Ichigo). She was bright, gentle (again, sometimes), and elegant, too. So something white, maybe?

"Well, you're gonna have to think fast, Ichigo." Keigo stated, shaking his head, "Time's running out and White Day's almost over."

"Like you're one to talk," he retorted, crossing his arms, "you don't have a present for Inoue."

Suddenly, the teacher walked in with her hands on her hips. She said loudly, "Asano, Kurosaki, Ishida. If you're going to socialize, just go home already. Asano, detention's over and if you get detention again I'll make sure you're alone this time. Kurosaki, I won't let you stay after school to catch up if you're wasting your time. And Ishida... don't bother them. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." The boys answered in unison.

"Good. Now go home!"

Keigo and Uryuu wished Ichigo good luck as they made their way home, walking down a different street. Ichigo decided to wander around a market, trying to find something he could get for Rukia. Luckily they were still selling White Day gifts.

What did she get for me again on Valentine's Day? Just chocolates. Honmei, to be exact...

Ichigo felt the blood rush to his face, turning them a beet red.

Nevemind!

But what really caught his eye was the red ribbon. Why did he like it so much? That night he found the ribbon wrapped around his finger. He played around with it, admiring the way it would gracefully dance when he moved his hands. The shade of red wasn't too bright like a fluorescent, neon sign, nor dull or too dark like the colour of blood. For some reason Ichigo really liked it.

It kept reminding him how he had such a strong connection with Rukia.

Then that's when he had an idea.

Ichigo felt a boyish grin grow on his lips, as he quickly made his way to a nearby a store to get what he believed to be a great White Day present for Rukia.

"I'm home." Ichigo said quietly as he opened the door and ducked, dodging his father's greeting kick.

"You're late, son!" Isshin said, bouncing back up as if nothing happened, "But good job. Your reflexes are getting better!"

"Welcome home, Ichi-nii. Took you a while. Poor Rukia-chan." Karin teased him while he calmly made his way into the house, holding a yellow gift bag stuffed with purple tissue paper. "But then again, Rukia-chan came home late on Valentine's, so now you're even."

"Onii-chan, are you hungry? Sorry, we all ate already, but there's still plenty of food left! I'll just heat it up." Yuzu added.

Ichigo smiled a bit at his younger sisters, "Nah, I'll eat in a bit. Thanks."

He made his way to his room and found Rukia sitting in his desk, reading a manga with Kon snoozing on the bed. She was still in her school uniform.

"Ah, so you're finally home, Ichigo." Rukia said, eyes still on the pages of her manga book. "I almost believed you were with someone."

"Heh, this sounds familiar." Ichigo replied, smirking.

"Very." She simply said, continuing to read.

"Anyway, I -" Ichigo began, but stopped himself.

"I got you something for White Day. Hope you like it." Nah, too boring.

He went on, hiding the gift bag behind his back, "I was wondering if Soul Society was celebrating White Day."

"Yeah, they probably are." She answered.

Ichigo asked, "Were you thinking of joining them?"

Rukia paused, flipping a page, before replying, "I was, but I didn't want you to be left behind, and I also didn't want to have to bring you all the way to Soul Society and back. Too much work."

Ichigo chortled, "Lazy ass."

"Quiet..."

"I kinda feel bad that you had to stay because of me, though."

"Aw, thank you," Rukia teased him, making him red in the face. She thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't mind spending White Day with you. At least this is a holiday I am familiar with."

Ichigo felt his palms get sweaty. "So you know what happens on White Day, right?"

"Yes, and you explained it to me, too." Rukia replied, "Boys give presents to girls. I got a few chocolates, actually, but not -"

She gasped slightly, when she finally looked up and saw Ichigo holding out a gift bag towards her.

"From you?" she asked softly.

"No, it's from Keigo." Ichigo said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes. "Of course it's from me, idiot."

Her violet eyes grew wide with surprise. It caused Ichigo to burst out, "Hey, don't act so shocked! I can be caring, too, y'know."

"Okay, okay." Rukia smiled slightly, "Well, thank you, Ichigo."

"Happy White Day." Ichigo's eyes lit up when he remembered something. "Oh. Here."

He passed her fluffy, pink marshmallows skewered by a thin Pocky stick. It was tightly held in clear wrapping.

She thanked him again then accepted the present, placing the gift bag on her lap and removing the purple tissue paper. She reached into the bag, and felt a cool, smooth, fabric against her fingertips. She pulled it out to find a white scarf that had the look and feel of silk.

"Do you like it?" Ichigo asked gently.

"Yes," she replied, "I do. Very much. Is this real silk?"

His face flushed, and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, stuff like that doesn't come cheap. It's some other material." He quickly added, "But I'm not saying I'd get you cheap things! It's still really good quality and actually cost a lot... I'm not like Byakuya who'll spoil you, but I'll make sure your gift -"

"I still like it." Rukia told him, making him shut his mouth.

"Oh. That's... a relief," he replied, exhaling and feeling happiness wash over him because of his accomplishment.

"In fact," Rukia began, gazing at the accessory with wide, violet eyes, "this sort of looks like Nii-sama's scarf!"

Ichigo sweatdropped. She's supposed to think of me, not Byakuya!

"But," she said, looking at it one more time, "that's not the reason I like it."

Rukia threw the scarf around her, but it was a little long, with one side hanging by her waist. She started to unwrap the marshmallows, licking her lips before taking a bite. Before Ichigo could even think, he found his arm moving towards her, taking the end of the scarf, and pressing it against his bottom lip.

Rukia swallowed and her pale face turned a faint pink, and she buried her chin deeper into the scarf. Even though he just bought it for her, it already managed to smell like him. Rukia's cheeks burned even more. For once, Ichigo's family wasn't there to interrupt them.

"Th-thank you for the White Day present, Ichigo," she managed to say.

Ichigo tried not to stare, but he was amazed that she looked exactly like how he imagined: dressed in white, with a look that sent chills down his spine.

"I didn't pick white just because it was White Day."

"Hm?" She continued to nibble on the White Day marshmallows.

Ichigo smiled slightly, feeling his heart pound wildly in his chest. "I think white really suits you."

And your heart...

Even though Rukia's mouth was hidden behind the scarf, he could tell by her eyes and high cheekbones that she was smiling.

Is pure, elegant...

Ichigo, still holding the end of the scarf, suddenly whipped it over her face, blocking her vision.

"O-Oi! Ichigo!" Rukia stammered in surprise.

Bright.

Ichigo laughed at her before she adjusted the scarf and landed a quick punch on his stomach. He doubled over, losing his balance, and before falling, grabbed her wrist and pulled her down with him. They both landed on the floor, with the scarf sprawled over both their faces. Ichigo tried to get up but found the scarf restraining him from his position and the other end being wrapped around Rukia. Perhaps dinner could wait. He fell back down beside her to rest for a bit.

Beautiful.

They both stayed silent until Rukia lifted her other hand to reveal the marshmallow stick, and finished it while saying with a full mouth, "Chubby bunny."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Oh? Why not chubby Chappy?"

"Mm! That's right!"

Ichigo stifled a chuckle, before Rukia began to laugh along with him.

Mine.

A/N: One day late! I'm so sorry! I wanted to post this on White Day but had no time... Oh well. Better late than never. This is for the readers that wanted a continuation. I hope you liked it! ^_^ I just had to put Chappy in there somewhere.

Is it weird that I was listening to "Glow" by the voice actors of IchiRuki while writing this? Ah, I'm so desperate... XP

Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading!